Africa Geographic March 2008 [antikvár]

founder's notecc Some might find the notion of human transience alarming, but I find it invigorating, uplifting, a source of purpose yyWhat a wonderful tale the giraffe tells us through the eyes and intelligent musings of biologist Rob Simmons {see Tall tales: or how the giraffe got its neck', page 32). I have a sense that it would appeal hugely to the late Stephen Jay Gould, and also to Richard Dawkins, whose riveting elucidations tracing the processes of natural selection have long been among my favourite companions. As it happens, I havejust re-read his The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life and recommend it - all 685 pages - without reservation.Dawkins's writing is scintillating and visionary as he leads us back down the genetic tracks from our contemporaneous biodiversity to rendezvous points, set in geological time, where groups of species last had a common ancestor - 'concestors' as he calls them. Back and back we are taken, meeting concestor after concestor as the tracks merge into the paths, roads and highways that lead us towards the 'grand ancestor of all life' {not to be confused with the origin of life). Out of great complexity, Dawkins draws us towards a realisation that I find poetic in its simplicity: that the wonder of diversity in all the life forms on our planet is inextricably woven Into the equal wonder of the unity of all life. It is a genetic journey that started some three billion years ago and will most likely continue for billions of years to come. Will we as a species manage to stay the pace? Who knows, but the past suggests no.Does it matter even? I think not. Notwithstanding, just as we as individuals ought to make every day of our lives count, so should we, as a species much benefited by sentience and the power of rational thought, make the most of our allotted collective slot on earth. Some might find the notion of human transience alarming, but I find it invigorating, uplifting, a source of purpose.All too easily we are lead into emotional and intellectual decline, a sense of impotence, about the state of our planet and the great wrongs we humans wreak upon it. But negativity is a dark, ill-fitting mantle. Rather, we ought to reflect on our privilege to be living in exciting times where more is known now than at any other stage since our first teetering steps on the stage of evolution. Every day, those at the cutting edge of science and technology uncover more and more about the cosmos of which we are but a tiny speck, sometimes through blinding flashes of insight, but more by painstaking research. And never before, thanks to the inclusive power of electronics and digital communication, have so many of us been so informed and empowered.We can use our knowledge and power to the benefit of our worid or to harm it. The choice is ours - the cosmos is indifferent to our presence. But to knowledge and power we must add Imagination, for it is the key. As the late, great cosmologist Carl Sagan once remarked: 'Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.'Alrico Geographic ii editorially and financially independent. It enpys the support and endorsement of seve al non-go.ernmen orqanisationsr but it is not affiliated In any way to these bodies or to any other publishing, environmenal or political interest nroup. Alrica Ceooraphic strives to foster an awareness of wildlife, conservation, ecotravel, indigenous cultures and the general environment. It consistently advocates the wisest use of natural resources in a manner that involves and is of real benefit to the people of Africa. Alrica Ceographic is published 11 times a year.Ji^4 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC INARCH 2008